The conventional progressive wisdom is that the Trump Administration will be bad for cities and for transit users. But in recent decades, a unified Republican government has been better for public transit than a divided government.

An efficient and equitable transport system must be diverse to serve diverse travel demands. Planners need better tools to quantify and communicate the benefits of walking, cycling and public transit to sometimes skeptical decision makers.

Quebec

July 6, 2014 marks the one-year anniversary of North America's most catastrophic energy calamity when a runaway oil unit train carrying Bakken crude exploded in this small Quebec town killing 47 people and incinerating ten blocks of its downtown.

In Montreal, the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough unveiled an ambitious plan to make streets safer for people on foot and bikes by securing pedestrian crossings, and creating new bike paths as well as two "cycle streets" — where bikes have priority.

The National Transportation Safety Board called on federal regulators on Jan. 23 to approve several measures in light of a rash of oil train derailments and crude oil explosions as did their Canadian counterparts, the Transportation Safety Board.

With debts in excess of $30 million owed to the city of Montreal, and unhappy customers in New York City and Chicago refusing to pay for outstanding bills, the Bixi bike-share company has been forced to file for bankruptcy protection.

Call it the Lac-Mégantic effect - the July 6 conflagration that leveled the downtown, killing 47 people, has implications for all jurisdictions where oil and freight trains run. Cities must recognize that rail insurance policies are woefully lacking.

Reuters reports that at 1 a.m. on Oct. 19, 13 cars of a CN train hauling oil and LPG derailed in Alberta. One car exploded and three others caught fire. Fortunately, there were no injuries, unlike July's fatal conflagration in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec.

Montreal's Bixi is one of the most replicated bike-sharing systems in the world, but the publicly backed company has struggled with financial troubles since debuting in 2008. Outstanding payments due to Bixi are the latest threat to the company.

Lac-Mégantic, Quebec was the site of a train derailment that cost dozens of lives and destroyed 10 blocks of its downtown. Now residents and town leaders are working to heal from that tragic event with plans for the future.

In a scene reminiscent of the Denzel Washington movie "Unstoppable", but without the heroic ending, an unmanned, 72-car oil train traveled 7 miles to Lac-Mégantic, pop. 6,000, where it derailed, setting off a fireball downtown. 5 fatalities so far.

California's cap-and-trade program is barely five months old, and already it's expanding its horizons. Officials announced last week that the program is merging with one operated in the Canadian province of Quebec.

Even for more seasoned bicyclists, cycling in winter can pose many problems. The winter-minded city of Montreal, however, is attempting to improve the condition of winter cycling in an effort to improve the city’s sustainability.

Most Montrealers haven't heard of pioneering architects Blanche Lemco van Ginkel and Daniel van Ginkel, without whom Old Montreal may not exist today. But with several events honoring the legacy of this visionary couple, that may soon change.

Two of North America's largest railroads have prevented Montreal from electrifying the city's four commuter rail lines on tracks owned by freight rail. They claim that electrification would pose insurmountable structural problems for freight rail.

Phyllis Lambert and Dinu Bumbaru author an opinion piece for the <em>Montreal Gazette</em> decrying plans to demolish a block of historic buildings on St. Laurent Blvd that reflect a key moment in the development of the city.

A group of McGill University planners have released a report on municipal funding highlighting untapped sources of revenue. The most glaring of them: fees levied on developers to pay for city services.

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